Measures assessing non sex-typed behavior continue to define that behavior in traditional sex role terms. A status/role distinction formulation of behavior provides a broader context in which to account for the characteristics and competencies of an individual under specific circumstances. Under the status assignment model, individuals with a performative orientation tend to categorize acts in terms of specific roles. Individuals with a significance orientation are able to take into account the total "meaning" of the performance. To demonstrate that performative-oriented subjects would engage in sex role stereotyping, while significance-oriented subjects would evaluate each person/situation in terms of personal competence and behavior opportunities, 20 subjects (10 with a performative orientation; 10 with a significance orientation) rated observed behaviors in six scenarios, according to 20 adjectives from the Bem Sex Role Inventory. An analysis of the results showed that while performative subjects sex stereotyped the behavior of characters in all scenarios, the significance-oriented subjects showed no stereotyping effects. They rated each situation according to the appropriateness of behaviors in that situation and did not use irrelevent sex role prescriptions. In addition, performance-oriented subjects counter-stereotyped the obvious performative behavioral option in order to avoid presenting themselves as traditional sex role typers. Measures using the performance/significance orientation are able to overcome this social desirability bias in a way that current face-valid measures of androgyny are not. (BL)